26 September, 2015

Llanthony
Priory is a ruined twelfth-century priory in the Black Mountains of south-east
Wales.

Llanthony
Priory. The remains of the crossing tower with the north arcade of the nave and
two arches of the south arcade. The south transept is to the right of the
tower. The small pointed arch on the right of the south transept leads to the
slype, a covered passageway between the south transept and the chapter house

Llanthony
Priory lies in the Vale of Ewyas, a classical glaciated valley with steep sides
and a flat valley floor. At the head of the valley, to the north, Gospel Pass
leads over to the town of Hay-on-Wye.

The
valley changes direction at Llanthony, so the impression at the priory site is
of being surrounded by hills. This gives the site a sense of being enclosed,
separated from the rest of the world. Early Christian monastic foundations seem
to have liked spaces that were clearly delineated, such as islands and ex-Roman
forts, and the Llanthony Priory site has a distinct feeling of an island valley amongst
the hills.

Llanthony
was an Augustinian priory, founded in the early twelfth century by a Norman
knight named William de Lacy. Tradition says that one day when out hunting he
took shelter in a ruined chapel dedicated to St David, and then founded a
priory on the same site. The ruins of the priory church visible today belong to
a grandiose rebuilding project conducted by the de Lacy family in the period
1180-1230.

The
priory was in decline by the beginning of the sixteenth century, and after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII it was left to decay.The prior’s house on the west side of the
cloister was converted into a private house and is now the Priory Hotel.The welcoming bar in the undercroft was
probably once the prior’s cellar – highly appropriate that it still retains
something approximating to its original use – and is a great place to stop for
a beer on a long bike ride (sustenance is in order before tackling the climb
over Gospel Pass).

The
Priory Hotel and the remains of the nave

The
north arcade of the nave still has a complete set of standing arches

Looking across the site of the cloisters (which would
have occupied the open lawn in the foreground) to the nave, with the ruins of
the crossing tower on the right and the Black Mountains in the background

The
south and west walls of the crossing tower still stand to some height

The
crossing tower from the east end, with the nave beyond

Looking
along the nave to the remains of the crossing tower, with the remains of the
south transept on the right

The
arches of the nave arcade are pointed arches in the Gothic style. But the row
of smaller windows above the arch in the tower are round arches in the Norman
style.

Close-up
of the upper windows in the crossing tower

The
south transept also has round arches standing

Round arch in the south transept

Mixed
styles are very common in British medieval churches, because architectural
fashions could change in the decades that it took to build a large church, and
building designs were frequently altered during construction. Presumably the
builders of Llanthony Priory church started at the east end with the
traditional Norman round arch style, and then decided to adopt the fashionable
new pointed Gothic arch as the church building progressed west.

The
place name, Llanthony, looks at first sight as though the church should be
dedicated to St Anthony, with the Welsh ‘llan’ (church) and the saint’s
name.However, the parish church on the
site is dedicated to St David, the patron saint of Wales, and the priory church
was dedicated to St John.So where does
St Anthony come into it?

The
answer is that he doesn’t. The Welsh name is Llanddewi Nant Honddu, ‘the church
of St David in the valley of the [river] Honddu’, a completely accurate
descriptive name describing the dedication of the parish church (and the
original chapel) and its location.The
‘Nant Honddu’ seems to have been transformed into ‘Anthony’, perhaps through
being misheard by non-Welsh-speakers who made sense of it as best they could.

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About Me

I'm a scientist with an interest in history, particularly the history of Britain in the 5th-10th centuries AD (i.e. between the departure of Rome and the Norman invasion).
I write scientific journal articles, for which I get paid, and historical and fantasy fiction, for which I don't. I'm a keen hillwalker, though I live in the flatlands of East Anglia.
I'm a devotee of BBC Radio 4, the network that justifies the license fee all by itself.
Carla Nayland is a pen name.